


Orbiting

by the_never_was



Series: We Satellites [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff, Gen, One-Shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-30 00:58:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12097218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_never_was/pseuds/the_never_was
Summary: One-shots of the MaleShep/Liara from "Mandarin Oranges" and "Her"Posted Sept 2017 with account, dated with written date.





	1. Mission Override

**Author's Note:**

> Shepard/Liara/Mass Effect, etc., belong to Bioware.

  
  
She couldn't quite remember what had started the conversation. Her mind was blank of anything but what Shepard was saying. Liara's heart pounded.

 _“I like you_... _and I think you like me, too.”_

Shepard had entered not five minutes ago, looking like he had some business he wanted dealt with quick. His voice had been rough, firm, and determined. By the Goddess.

But clearly he wasn't through yet.

“Liara, I...I know this is probably...strange, but. Look, I'm not one to...uh, do this...stuff and....” Shepard trailed off, scratching the bit of dark blond stubble on his chin.

“Okay,” she replied, exhaling. Liara felt her curiosity winning out. “Shepard, does this mean I am correct that there have been...signals between us?”

Shepard looked relieved. And embarrassed. His jaw tightened, he looked away, and finally nodded, hands on his hips. “I just...had to say it. Before it kills me,” he muttered, still looking to the side. “God fucking knows I can't sleep anymore.”

“W-What?”

He tossed his head back, then paced a little. “You know. Guy likes girl, guy can't stop thinking about girl, guy goes nuts.”

Liara broke out into a giggle. It was impossible not to with how fast he'd come in, all so serious, and now dumped this out as if complaining. Shepard paused, looked at her strangely, then smirked. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I suppose I can sympathize with your plight.”

“Can you?” he asked, a brow raised.

Liara took a breath. “Yes, Shepard. I've...never had an attraction before, not really. This is...new to me.”

“But you like me?” he directly asked, never wavering his eye contact. “I wanna be clear on it.”

“Yes.” She felt her body warming. “Is that...clear enough for whatever?”

Shepard blew air from his lips, blinked, and was close to her face in the space of a heart beat. Liara stared in awe, then closed her eyes, feeling his lips seal to hers. It was wonderful—pressuring and gentle, then harder and passionate. Liara's arms wound around his neck as his slid around her waist. He lifted his face only a moment to take her in, eyes searching, before he bent again and kissed her harder. Liara followed his lead, only mildly shocked when his tongue swept beyond her lips and touched hers. It was a strange sensation, but she engaged back in it, quite enjoying the thrill of everything happening.

Shepard somehow lifted her up and sat her on her desk, hands sliding to encase her hips. “I  _can't_ get you out of my head,” he grunted between kisses, mouth opening against hers. “I liked you before the mind meld, but ever since...the feeling of you there...inside my thoughts, with me, conscious...fuck, there is nothing else like it. That's intimacy on a plane humans can't get to.”

Liara blinked up softly at him, lips pursed without her awareness. “Now you see why asari are hesitant on whom they do it with. It is  _very_ intimate.”

“Yes, I understand,” he agreed, then kissed her breath away. “I care about you, Liara. I won't pressure you.”

“I care about you, too, Shepard.”

“Gabriel,” he insisted yet again.

Liara felt his tongue lick across her lower lip. “Gabriel,” she repeated with a little sigh.

“ _Yes_ , that's it. I've wanted to hear you say my name like that for too damn long,” he rumbled and captured her mouth, then her jaw with his lips.

As much as Liara was enjoying the heat, the kisses, her conscience rose up painfully. She withdrew some, settling her brow to his. “Shepard...with this mission...if I am distracting you, it is dangerous.”

“I know,” he sighed, looking so close into her eyes. “But...having  _said_ how I feel...having touched you and you touch back...it's easing a lot of the endless tirade.”

“That's good, but...perhaps this is not the best idea given how pressured we are. If anything were to happen.... Saren has to be our focus.”

Shepard closed his eyes, and just like that Liara realized she'd made a mistake. It was  _not_ that she didn't want whatever this was—she absolutely did. It was that she didn't want to mess up his focus, their chances...or ever have him blame her in anger. She'd be fine waiting until Saren was captured, but she hadn't said that in her concern. But it was too late to really even explain that to him. Shepard had already leaned away, hands sliding off of her hips to the desk on either side of her.

Liara's heart twisted inside as he looked first down to his boots, then straightened his back and stepped away from her. He tossed her a glance over his shoulder. “You're right. I'm sorry.”

She stared in shock and mild pain as Shepard quietly left the room without looking back.


	2. Thessia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shepard/Liara/Mass Effect, etc., belong to Bioware.

  
  
  


Gabriel Shepard had only one thought in his mind. _Failure_.   
  
He had failed. He had failed the asari, the galaxy, everyone against the Reapers and Cerberus in one fell fucking swoop of a mission. But worst of all...he had failed Liara.

The love of his life ambled behind him toward Cortez's location, saying nothing but crying silently. Shepard closed in on the shuttle, punched the door angrily to alert Cortez, and hopped inside with his team.

Liara shook, slowly falling into a seat. Shepard watched her break and shook harder.

Javik sighed. “The VI of my people was correct. The patterns prevail. Your splinter group has taken everything.”

“I'm fucking aware,” Shepard lowly snapped.

The four-eyed prothean shrugged. “Don't lose the anger. Don't lose your edge.”

“What about all we have just lost?” Liara practically shouted in the tight space as they hurtled back toward the _Normandy_. “Why didn't you _do_ something!”

“I have told you the history of my people. We expected _you_ to do something, asari.”

“My name is _Liara T'soni!_ ”

Javik sneered, muttered something frustratedly rude, and Shepard stepped between them, hot blue eyes on the prothean. “Shut up.”

“Commander, she needs truths not coddling.”

“I don't give a flying fuck.” Shepard narrowed his eyes. “Not. Now.”

The long tense posturing between the pair suddenly erupted. “Do not be blinded, Commander! One love means nothing in the picture of this war.”

Shepard didn't even think. His fist moved and then cracked Javik in the head, knocking the alien back and making Cortez and Liara shout in shock. Shepard grabbed the alien with his gaping mouth of strange teeth and snapped, “ _Who_ do you think I'm fighting it _for_ , Javik! The galaxy, yeah, but none of the fucking galaxy cared when I tried _twice_ before. Only Liara. I kill Reapers for all, but I will _win this_ for _her_ , not _you_. Be _silent_.”

“Shepard,” Liara murmured behind him in soft surprise.

Cortez called that they were inside the ship, docking fine, and that EDI was getting them out of atmo. Shepard hauled Javik up by his arm, nodded once at the alien, and stepped out of the shuttle, Liara at his side. Liara took deep breaths. “I...I have to...I have to go deal with things.”

Shepard didn't stop her. She needed a moment, and she'd damn well get one. He managed to bypass a concerned Cortez and understanding Vega, silently riding the elevator to his cabin to change. Not long after he went back to the Crew deck and found Tali worried about Liara. Apparently she'd argued _again_ with Javik before coming back upstairs. Shepard stormed over to where the asari stood, angrily yanking rations out of a cabinet to take back into her office to probably forget.

Several concerned Alliance eyes and squad ones alike watched him march over to her. Liara looked up and closed her eyes. “I'm sorry. I lost my temper with him.”

“Look at me.”

Liara opened her eyes, which were clearly wet.

Shepard exhaled shakily and let one hand hold her cheek, not caring they had an audience. “I failed you. It will not happen again. EDI, get Traynor, Vega and Kaidan in the War Room. I want intel. Now.”

“Done,” EDI spoke in the comm above.

“Shepard,” Liara sighed, shaking her head. “It wasn't your fault.”

“And it wasn't _yours_. You can't know everything, honey,” Shepard softly said, though he might as well have shouted it considering how many eyes rounded. Liara leaned into his palm a little, tears running down. He searched her face. “No one died because of you. You did all you could for three years to warn them.”

Liara tried to swallow. “I hope you're listening to yourself.”

“We should have known about Cerberus. That is my fault. That is where I failed. I'm sorry, Liara.”

“Gabriel,” Liara whispered, catching the darkness in his face.

Shepard jerked away. “I'm dealing with it. Take a moment. Rest.”

Liara dropped her rations and pulled him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and stepping on her toes to bury her face there. She said nothing, just held him, and Shepard shuddered, knowing everyone was watching discreetly. His broad hands rubbed her back and shoulders. When Liara finally withdrew some to glance up at him, Shepard grunted, ignored everyone, and kissed her warmly.

Tali sighed wistfully somewhere behind him as Liara blinked. Shepard stroked her cheek. “Take five.”

“No, I'm coming with you to this brief.”

“Fine.” Shepard knew he wasn't going to shake her.

Liara quickly stacked the dropped rations back on the counter, took his hand, and followed him past several awkward Alliance crew to the elevator. When it shut them inside, Liara kissed him again, then rested against his chest. Shepard stroked the side of her face.

“I need time,” she whispered.

“I know.”

Liara glanced up before the doors opened. “I love you.”

Shepard closed his eyes, feeling some knot in him lessen a bit. “I love you, too.”

 


	3. Victory Kiss Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shepard/Liara/Mass Effect, etc., belong to Bioware.

 

 

 

 

Vega, Tali and others watched as Shepard bounced on his feet a little in the shuttle coming back into the Normandy. He'd just synced the laser locking system and took down a Reaper on foot on Rannoch soil. A feat unheard of. Lips twitched in amusement, happy to see him _energetic_ and _happy_ for once, too.

The crew had gathered as much as possible to welcome people back onto the ship. Whoops and cheers echoed loudly as the doors opened, and Shepard stepped out nodding and waving a little. Vega shook hands behind him, Tali even getting some hand shakes from some of the Alliance folk. The crowd quieted a little bit, though, as Liara weaved her way through them.

Her eyes were large, sapphire, and wet. Scared, yet relieved. Terrified, yet happy.   
  
A few of the crew looked around, curious and asking soft questions to one another, but others just smiled. Many Alliance knew the alien crew were more often than not close friends with their Commander, but people would have to have been blind or completely occupied to not have heard rumors or noticed the way Shepard and Liara had always been on the ship.

She blinked once, inhaling slowly as she looked at him with a half-smile.

Shepard grinned, cocky, and managed a small strut as he closed the distance. A couple of the Alliance female crew members sighed under their breath watching him. The Commander smirked. “I killed a Reaper today.”

“Oh, I heard. Every part. Risks, but...they paid off,” Liara murmured, shaking her head good-naturedly at him.

Snickers around the room went unnoticed by the pair.

Liara exhaled and stared up at him, eyes going soft and open. “You could have died.”

Shepard tilted his face. “But I didn't. I came back. I got _better_...at killing Reapers.”

“Don't pull that line on me twice,” she snorted, shaking her head again. “You think you're something.”

“Why not? It worked the first time,” Shepard teased, earning a few random gasps and quiet laughs among those still watching. “And I am something, Liara. Yours.”

Liara narrowed her eyes playfully with annoyance. “Uh huh.”

EDI smiled over Tali's shoulder as Shepard took Liara's hands in his. Shepard's grin slipped a tiny bit, and he slowly bent down to bump his brow to hers. “I promised. I keep my promises.”

“Good. You still owe me for the heart attack I had, though, Shepard.”

The grin came back in full force as he pulled her suddenly into his arms. “I know.”

“Cocky.”

“You love it when I get full of myself.”

“Oh shut up.”

Vega broke out chuckling, getting an elbow from Cortez.

Shepard rolled his eyes at them, then searched Liara's face. “I'll always come home,” he whispered. “Liara.”

Liara smiled and closed her eyes tightly, then sighed as Shepard bent and kissed her right in front of everyone, lips opening, tongue sliding. All eyes moved to the pair, smiling with warmth as he lifted her up somewhat, holding her tightly with her arms around his neck. Whistles and low teasing noises came from Vega and crew near him.

Shepard finally broke the kiss, looked over his shoulder and ordered Vega to do push ups.

Vega shrugged. “I can do 'em all day, Commander.”

“Put your muscle where your mouth is. Cortez, you're in charge,” Shepard said, getting a cackle from Cortez as he thumped Vega on his back and demanded he get in position for push ups. That got a real laugh from the Commander, making everyone smile again. He snickered and took Liara under his arm and walked her through the crowd toward the elevator.

“Hey, Commander, if her eyes do that freaky black thing I wanna know,” Joker teased over the intercom.

Liara gasped, affronted, and Shepard yanked her into the elevator, punching the button for his cabin. “No chance, Joker. Those moments are only for me.”

“You're no fun."

 

 


End file.
